


Seirēnes

by needleyecandy



Series: Silly September [1]
Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Romance, Sirens, talking pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-18 12:04:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4705397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/needleyecandy/pseuds/needleyecandy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sailors can't hear sirens over noisy engines. It's a simple fact. Hunger eventually forces Loki to leave his home, and even in the depths of the Aegean he has heard about the allure of New York City, so that is where he goes. </p>
<p>He plans on adventure. He plans on excitement. </p>
<p>He does not plan on Thor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sheilatakesabow](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=sheilatakesabow).



> Welcome to Silly September! Expect a silliness every day of the month. I'm on vacation and probably won't be getting to comments until I get home, but I'll appreciate them very much! (Also, since I'm on vacation, I'm not doing final proofreading. Please feel free to point out typos.)
> 
> From the prompt [ “i’m a siren and i keep accidentally forgetting that i have roommates now and and end up putting them in my thrall when i’m singing taylor swift songs in the shower” AU. ](http://haimaee.tumblr.com/post/117184210887/mythological-creature-aus)
> 
> Enjoy!

It was all the fault of James Watt (1736-1819).

Not that he knew that at first, of course. He only found that out recently. He still remembered the first time he saw one of the steam-breathing ships. It was fast and large and so loud that he knew instantly there was no purpose to his song.

For years, those steam ships were seen but seldom. With time, though, they came to dominate the waters, until it was only the pleasure-boats of the wealthy that continued to bring him food. That was good as well, for many years; he amassed great heaps of treasure, ordering them to bring him gold and jewels to pile up in his glittering cave under the sea. Once he had taken all of their possessions, he took them down to his cave, as well. He amused himself by setting the skeletons into various tableaus. Sometimes, he would invite the other sirens over to play pictionary with the bones.

Then the people began to change. When he ordered them to bring him their valuables, they brought little plastic sticks with a sliding metal bit, or just a slip of paper with a strange jumble of letters and numbers that they told him would open all their wealth at the click of a mouse. When that happened, he killed them in a rage. Just because he was a creature of the sea did not mean he did not know mice, and he knew very well what mice said. Mice said, "squeak." Mice most certainly did not say, "click," and those people paid for their idiotic jokes.

The others moved away, one by one. "I hear there's still good hunting in Florida," they said.

He did not want to move to Florida. He had nothing against Florida but he did not think he was really the Florida sort of person.

It certainly had nothing to do with crocodiles.

Walking was strange - he did it so seldom - and wearing clothing was even stranger. But he had heard many tales of the world, and he had set his heart on New York City, and the Hudson River was far too cold and polluted for him to live there. He'd have to find an apartment and pretend to be human.

The owner of the Internet café - right on the beach, for those tourists who just couldn't wait to get back to their hotels - was reluctant to let him use a computer without proper payment.

"This is a Spanish doubloon from 1304," he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "We're on the Euro."

His song got him what his gold could not. She even sat down next to him and showed him how to use the computer. He politely ignored her head resting on his shoulder, though he jumped when her hand started creeping up his thigh. "I'm sorry, I'm married," he lied.

Her skin was very soft, and she smelled good, and he imagined she must be very tasty, but he forced himself to stay focused. He must not eat his computer teacher, not if he was going to get to New York.

He returned several times over the next few days, using the machine to find everything he needed. Fake documents (both US and Greek passports and papers, because that seemed more convenient, and after Petra had put some of his coins on ebay, he could afford it) a flight (because there was no way he was swimming across the Atlantic at this time of year), and at last, an apartment.

"Perhaps you should live with a roommate. Find someone who wants to learn Greek, and they will help you get used to the city in return," she suggested.

He had never shared a living space before. It sounded strange. It sounded a little intimidating. It sounded...

It sounded like an adventure.

He wrote his ad by himself. He hoped English hadn't changed too much in the past century or so - it had been a while since he'd had an English-speaking victim - but trusted that at worst, any peculiarities could be explained away as those of a non-native speaker.

That turned out to be exactly what happened. He got a reply the very next day.

_Hello, Loki. I trust this message finds you well. My name is Thor, and I will have an opening in my apartment in three weeks when my current roommate moves out. Your share of the rent would be $1200 a month including utilities. The apartment is 860 square feet, and the neighborhood is pretty quiet. We have a nice park two blocks away. I am 26, a non-smoker, but I do like to drink with my friends (I don't get sloppy drunk). I've been working in the city since I graduated from college, but I'm getting frustrated with how pointless my job is, and I think I want to go back and get a degree in archeology. It would be great for me to learn some Greek, since that's where I would most like to study. In return for your help in teaching me conversational Greek, I would be more than happy to take you out exploring the city and getting used to living in the US._

_I am attaching some pictures of myself, the apartment, and the neighborhood, so you can get an idea of what things are like here. I hope to hear from you soon._

_Thor_

Loki opened the first attachment and his mouth began to water. Thor looked _scrumptious._ Utterly delectable. Loki could feast on him for a month, easily. He shook his head sharply, reminding himself that it was not done in polite society to eat one's roommates. Not anymore.

And Thor actually sounded like someone Loki might enjoy living with.

He wrote back to say that he would like to move in.

Loki spent the rest of his time at home bringing a few loads of valuables up to the shore, where Petra was boxing them up to be shipped to Loki's new address. Finally - two days before his flight, just to be safe - it was time to take the bus to Athens. He did not eat Petra before he left. This was a new age, and he was a new Loki. So instead he gave her enough money to close down the internet café and follow her secret passion of competitive ballroom dancing. He watched as his boxes were loaded onto the mail truck and then walked to the side of the sea. His home, no more.

Loki had to change busses twice before he arrived in Athens. When he got there, he wandered dumbstruck. There were more people here than he had truly, deep down, believed were in existence. The computer had said that New York City was even larger, but he did not believe it. It was impossible that there could be another such collection of humanity.

The flight itself was unsettling. He did not sleep for a single moment. Creatures of the sea, he decided, did not belong in the air. His seatmate was more afraid than he was, though. At least he knew that he would not drown when the plane crashed.

The plane did not crash. It landed with a soft bounce and a scatter of applause, and then a long wait before it was his turn to stand and exit. He followed the surge of people towards what the signs said was CUSTOMS.

It was difficult to understand the speech of the person who pelted him with question after question, but he managed to answer them well enough, and his false papers got him through. The agent stamped APPROVED across the face of his visa. Loki had not known that stamping could be done sullenly. He hadn't been in America a single hour and he was already learning new things.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Thor had said he would meet Loki at baggage claim. He followed the signs. In truth, he had little choice about that. The surge of bodies down the hallway was something he simply could not fight alone, not without singing to them or ripping their heads off, and it was important that he keep a low profile. So he was carried along the waves of people to an escalator and down. When they reached the lower floor, the people suddenly spread out in all directions. He was reminded of once when he was young, when he had gone high up a river so that he could ride it back to the sea. The churning rapids had been such fun, then, but now he was glad to reach this delta. He cast his gaze around him... 

... and there was Thor, and Loki's mouth started watering again. 

He was even better looking in person, perhaps because of the expression of wide-eyed anticipation he wore. It could also have been the way his face lit up when he spotted Loki and started waving excitedly. Or maybe how his arms bulged deliciously with each motion. 

Probably, though, it was because of how tight his pants were. Loki waved back and reminded himself: no eating roommates. 

The ride down the escalator seemed to take forever, but at last Loki found himself standing in front of Thor and taking his outstretched hand. "Loki, it's so good to meet you," Thor said. His voice was deep and rich. It made Loki think of a time long ago, when he had swum for days to the shores of Eleusis and listened to the celebration of the Mysteries. The incense that had come to him in dizzy waves had made him feel a little bit like this. 

"It is good to meet you as well," Loki said. 

"Your bags will be on carousel four," Thor said, pointing. They walked over and waited. Thor asked Loki about his flight. 

"We did not crash," Loki said. 

"That bad, huh?" Thor asked, laughing. 

Loki frowned. If Thor was really this stupid, it was going to be very difficult to teach him Greek. "No, it is good not to crash," he explained. 

Thor sobered instantly. "Yes, of course. I was just making a joke. I'm very glad you didn't crash," he said. 

"Oh. That is good. I was afraid you were stupid." 

That made Thor laugh again, harder. It made Loki feel like he were sitting on a rock and sunning himself, not standing here in this hall that smelled like stale bodies and was lit with sickly bulbs. It made him smile. "I have never been on an airplane before," Loki said. "I did not like it." 

"Yeah, it's definitely not for everyone. I like getting the trip out of the way quickly, but it does feel like being a canned sardine in there." 

Loki was about to answer when the light at the middle of the carousel flashed. 

"That means your bags are coming, what do they look like? I'll help you carry them," Thor offered. 

"They are blue," Loki said, meeting his eyes. 

***** 

Thor got them a taxi to their apartment building. "Let's save the subway for when you're not jetlegged," he said. "It's a little overwhelming until you get used to it." 

Loki stared out the window as they rode through the city, his eyes wide despite his exhaustion. At least the driver had the radio on. It was something he didn't know, but it was catchy and bouncy enough to help him stay awake. 

"I guess the whole thing can be overwhelming at first," Thor said into the silence. 

"The computer said it was larger than Athens, but I did not believe it." 

"Yeah, it just keeps going," Thor agreed. "How big is the place you're from?" 

"My cave was a little smaller than the airplane." 

Thor blinked. "You lived in a cave?" 

Loki froze. He and Petra had made up such a carefully planned story, and he was so tired it had fled his mind. "Oh, yes. Many people do in Greece." 

"Really? I've vacationed there twice and never seen it. Is it in a certain region that people do that?" 

"The mountains," Loki said vaguely, while panicking. (Loki knew Pan personally, and had attended many of his gatherings over the years. He did not use the term _panic_ lightly.) 

"This is fascinating. Do you mind if I take notes?" Thor asked, reaching into his pocket. Loki must not have hidden his panic as well as he had hoped, because Thor paused. "I'm sorry. This has got to be a ton to deal with. We can get into that later. I'll just point out things as we drive past." 

Loki relaxed. It gave him some time to think up a new story, and he was so tired that his eyes were starting to hurt. On the good side, Thor was leaning close to him to talk about everything they saw out the window, and the sunshine was warm, and he was starting to like New York. 

The heavy traffic began to let up as the driver turned onto smaller roads. The area was becoming more residential, with lots of tall, narrow houses all packed tightly together. A short set of stairs led to the front doors, and many of them had people sitting outside, talking together or just enjoying the sunshine. 

"This is our neighborhood," Thor said as the street began to be lined with trees. "The park is just a few blocks to the left." 

The driver stopped in front of one of the buildings, ignoring the honking behind them as Thor leaned forwards and gave him some money. Loki watched carefully as the driver handed some money back to Thor, and then Thor gave him some money back again. 

All three of them got out together. The driver opened the trunk and they unloaded Loki's bags onto the sidewalk. The driver and Thor seemed completely oblivious to the traffic building up behind them. It sounded like some of the drivers were simply leaning on their horns. Loki cast a nervous glance back at them. He could silence them all, easily, but he really did mean to do his best here. It wouldn't be much of an adventure if he caught the entire city in his spell by the end of his first week here. 

"That's us, on the second floor," Thor said as he picked up two of the suitcases and moved them to the top step. He came back for a second load as Loki carried his trunk awkwardly in his arms. Thor unlocked the door and they got all the luggage inside, letting the door lock behind them. 

The staircase was narrow, and it was easier to take the things up in several trips. Thor took the trunk up as Loki followed with one suitcase. The rest followed, piling up on the landing outside the only door on this level. It was darkly stained wood that looked like it had seen better days. There was a peephole drilled into it a little below eye level. Loki leaned down to peer inside but it was dark. 

"There's a little flap on the other side that blocks it," Thor explained, flipping through his key chain for the right one. He found it and opened the door with a flourish. "Welcome home." 

Loki walked inside, staring around. The floor plan was open, and the huge windows filled the room with light. The kitchen was little more than a nook at one side of the living room. A counter with cupboards beneath it formed something of a wall. There was a long sofa, gray and pleasantly worn, facing a television set. A large fish tank stood against the wall. Loki went over to it and looked inside. 

The fish clustered near the glass, excited to welcome him. 

"My old roommate left those when he moved out. I hope you don't mind. I'll take care of them, he was just going to flush them." 

"That's horrible!" Loki said. "Of course I don't mind." 

"Thanks. I'm still figuring it out, but I got a book." 

"They'll tell us what they need," Loki said absentmindedly. 

"They do? I haven't really been able to figure out anything except when they're hungry," Thor said, looking surprised. 

"Oh, yes. That's what I meant," Loki said weakly. 

"Oh, gotcha. Would you like to see your room?" 

Loki nodded silently. That was probably safest, right now. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Thor led him down the hallway. "This is my room," he said, pointing to the half-open door on the right. "And this is yours." Sunshine spilled out of the doorway, making the pale blond wood floor of the hallway glow. Thor stood back to let Loki go in first. 

Loki went in and looked around. It was simply but pleasingly furnished; the bed, dresser, and the small writing desk that stood in place of a nightstand were all of the same light wood as the floor, and the ceiling was high and airy. 

"What do you think?" Thor asked. Loki turned to find his new roommate biting his lip nervously. 

"It's lovely," he said. It was the truth, but even if it weren't, the lie would have been worth it for the smile that it brought back to Thor's face. 

"I'm glad you like it. I know it can't rival the mountains or anything, but for New York, it's pretty nice. Are you hungry? I know you must be really tired, I can fix us something quick while you get settled in," Thor offered. 

"That would be kind of you," Loki answered. 

"Do you have a special diet?" 

Loki blinked. 

"I mean, like, are you vegetarian, or paleo, or anything?" 

"No. I'm a human. I eat human food," Loki said. 

Thor laughed. "Okay, just making sure. Paleo's getting really big around here, I wasn't sure if it had hit Europe." 

Thor went to the kitchen and began to bang around while Loki opened his trunk and started putting things away. Petra had shown him how to make a bed, and it turned out rather messy, but he thought that for his first time doing it alone, it was pretty good. And he had time. He would learn. 

Clothes went into the dresser, everything else into the desk. He had packed his luggage logically, so unpacking went quickly, and he wandered back into the living room with his hair products, soap and washcloth, deodorant, and toothbrush and toothpaste. He did not need these things and was not accustomed to any of them, but he had told Petra he wanted to fit in, and she had bought them for him and explained how they were used. 

"Where do these go?" he asked Thor. 

"Oh, sorry, man! The bathroom is the one at the end of the hall," Thor said, gesturing with a spatula. 

Loki thanked him and went back down the hall. Thor had left him plenty of room everywhere he looked in the bathroom. On the windowsill in the side of the shower there was room for several more bottles, there were two soap dishes, one of which was empty, and the sliding cabinet had been left just a little bit open, just enough to see where the things for his teeth were supposed to go. He put everything away and took a bottle out of the cabinet. If it hadn't been labeled _Eau de Toilette_ he would have thought it was medicinal, from the look of the bottle. He opened it cautiously and took a sniff. Clove and cardamom and sandalwood filled his nose. It smelled very good, but it made him worry. He had read on the internet that Americans spent a good deal of time worrying about their underarms, but perhaps that alone was not enough. He walked back to the kitchen, a frown on his face. 

"Thor? Do I need to wear eau de toilette as well?" 

Thor turned from the stove to answer him. "No, of course not. Some guys use it, some don't. Why? Don't they wear it in... _oh,_ I get it. You're pulling my leg again. I'm going to have to keep my eye on you," he said with a grin. 

That hardly cleared things up. Loki was nowhere near Thor's legs, and he certainly was not pulling on them. It had to be a more recent expression. He really should have tried harder to eat some English in the recent centuries. 

Loki smiled back. "Yes, you will," he agreed. 

"The food's almost ready, you should have a seat. What do you like to drink?" Thor asked. 

The real answer was blood, but he wasn't about to say that. "Whatever you're having," Loki said. 

Thor made two trips from the little kitchen to the table where Loki was sitting, first setting down their drinks, then two plates of food. "That's a quesadilla," Thor said, pointing at the brown flat thing, "and that's roasted zucchini." 

Loki poked at a piece of the zucchini with his fork. "Courgette," he said. 

"Yeah, I think that's the British word for them. I hope you like everything," Thor said. Loki watched Thor pick up the quesadilla with his hands and take a bite. A long string of cheese pulled away, and Thor broke it with his finger, laughing a little. Loki nibbled his own more cautiously at first, but it was good, and he finished it quickly. The courgette was slightly bitter, and he couldn't quite help making a face. 

"I can make you another quesadilla if you want. That's the only veggie I had in the fridge right now," Thor offered. 

"No, I'm just not used to eating plants," Loki said with a shrug. "I'll adjust." 

"Oh. I didn't realize... are the mountains in Greece too cold to grow vegetables?" 

_Drat._ Loki needed to stop talking until he was more alert. "Yes, the village where I grew up had snow year-round. We had only meat to eat. But do not worry. I will adjust," he said again. 

"Wow," Thor breathed. "That's like some Arctic shit right there." 

Loki smiled blankly and took a sip of his drink. Cold water, he realized with relief. 

They fell into silence as they ate, and when the food was gone, Loki said he needed to go to bed. If he grew much tireder he was afraid he might simply collapse. Thor looked a little disappointed, but nodded his understanding and said he'd take care of their dishes. 

It was a little after dawn when Loki woke, a good start for adjusting to his new time zone. He slipped out to the living room to get better acquainted with his new home without Thor there to watch. The fish tank first, he decided. "Hello," he whispered to them. "My name is Loki." 

They gathered together again, just as they had the night before. 

"Hello! I'm Sif," said the largest, a sleek silvery fish. 

"Fandral is my name," said the shining gold one. 

"I'm Volstagg," said the plump one with the fiery red tail. 

"And I'm Hogun," said the last one, a long slender fish with dark blue fins. 

"It's very nice to meet you all," Loki said with a gracious nod of his head. 

They whispered, all nudging one another until Sif swam forward. 

"Please don't eat Thor, we like him," she piped. 

"Yes, he's nice," said Hogun. 

"He takes good care of us," Fandral said. 

Sif spoke up again. "Very good care. When Volstagg was sick, he took him to the vet. People don't usually do that for pet fish. Well, maybe expensive fish. Not for us guppies." 

"That's true, he did. And he never forgets to feed us," Volstagg added. 

"Very well. I promise not to eat him," Loki said solemnly. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! I have an extra-hectic day tomorrow so there's a chance that instead of an update tomorrow you may get two on the sixth. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The fish were cheerful and welcoming, but their conversation was a trifle limited. When Loki's stomach rumbled, he politely excused himself to go poke around the kitchen. Thor had told him to help himself to whatever he found, so he rummaged around until he found a package of ham slices. He ate leaning over the sink and then began to search for a place to put the empty bag. Having lived in the ocean - the land-man's garbage bin for millennia - he was very sensitive to appropriate disposal. (Very. Murderously, to be accurate.) The first thing that looked promising turned out to be full of paper. _Recycling_ , it said. There was more _recycling_ with glass and metal that he found before he thought to look under the sink, where a small bin was clearly collecting trash. He continued opening cupboards, peering inside one after the other, learning where everything lived. 

"Good morning!" Thor's voice startled him and he bumped his head on an open door, offering an _ooof_ in return. 

He straightened, rubbing at the sore spot. "Good morning. I hope it was all right that I looked around." 

"Yes, of course! All this stuff comes with the apartment, so it's not like you're even digging through my stuff. If you want to rearrange anything that's cool with me, you've already seen the limits of my cooking skills." 

"No, this is good. I just need to learn." 

"Okay, well, if you change your mind... hey, you want some coffee? Jeff and I used to take turns buying bags, if you're a fellow fiend." 

"I've never had coffee." 

"Really?" Thor looked taken aback. "I thought Greek coffee was a really big deal." 

_Shit._ Perhaps Loki should just start looking for an apartment in London now, and write in his ad that he had vocal cord damage and couldn't speak... but no. They'd just write him notes, and then there's be tangible proof when he made a slip like this. 

"It is, but, ah... we make it out of seaweed." 

"Really! That's fascinating. I guess if it's roasted properly?" 

Loki nodded weakly. "No coffee for me, but thank you." He glanced around for a new subject of conversation. Sif caught his eye and winked. 

"You didn't tell me you'd taken one of the fish to the vet. You know more than you gave yourself credit for," Loki said. 

Thor blinked in confusion. "He seemed listless and I didn't know what else to do. I don't think that counts as knowing. How'd you know that, anyway? That was a few weeks ago." 

"Oh! I found a-" Loki fumbled for the word. He scolded himself silently. He really needed another good night's sleep - several, really - before he could let himself talk without thinking through his words first. 

"Did I leave a receipt around somewhere? I'm sorry, I really tried to clean all my shit up before you got here." 

"Don't worry, I took care of it. I found the recycling," Loki said. 

"Oh, cool, you're into recycling! Jeff sucked at it, he always threw everything into the trash. If it even made it that far." 

"I've killed people for less." _Shit. Shut up, Loki. Get away._

Thor barked a laugh and clapped him on the back. "I can already tell we are going to get along _so well._ Are you hungry?" 

"No, I ate something already. I hope that was all right." 

"Yeah, man, help yourself until you're settled in. I have to leave for work in an hour, but I can show you around the neighborhood and go grocery shopping tonight, if you want?" 

"That would be nice," Loki said. "Do you think I have time to shower while you have your breakfast?" The bathroom was nice and safe. He wouldn't have to worry about slips of the tongue while he was behind a closed door. He could relax, and be in the water, and feel a little more at home. 

"As long as I can have it in like half an hour. I like to take my time with my coffee and the news." 

Loki nodded. "I'll be out in time." 

It took some fiddling with the knobs to figure out how to get the water temperature right. The pipes creaked and groaned as they filled, and Loki found himself selfishly glad that the shower was on Thor's wall, rather than his own. 

When he got in and had streams of blissfully warm (but not hot - hot water tended to make him nervous ever since the time when he was young and had come across a thermal vent in the ocean, and the creatures that lived there still gave him the spooks) water running through his hair and caressing his skin, he realized how tense he had been. From the moment he took the bus to Athens, he had been aware that this was not his true place, that he was an interloper. The sort of thing they would cage and study and dissect, were they to become aware of his nature and get really good earplugs. But now here, alone, he could relax and be himself. 

He hummed idly to himself as he stood, face turned up to meet the cascading water. All these worries... he just needed to shake them off. Like that girl in the song in the cab yesterday. She was right. He shook his head, the water from his hair flying out in all directions. It left him a little dizzy and he laughed at himself. He just needed to remember his mother's advice. _Be yourself and people will like you, Loki_. She had known what she was talking about, too - everyone loved her, right up to the day she taunted a shark just a little too long and got bitten in half. He still missed her, but the ache of her loss had been dulled by the centuries. And at least she had died doing what she loved. 

When Loki left the bathroom, a towel tied low around his hips (Petra had told him it wasn't polite to show some things to people who weren't expecting it), Thor was standing at the door. Like, _right_ at the door. His hand was on the knob as though he were about to barge in. 

"Oh! Did I take too long? I'm sorry," Loki said. 

Thor blinked at him in confusion. "No. You didn't. I... I... I don't know," he stammered. He turned and went abruptly to his room. 

Loki went to his own room to dry off and dress and went to sit in the open area and drink coffee. It tasted terrible, but he couldn't find another reason to be sitting around casually when Thor left for work. He'd obviously made some mistake, to have made Thor so embarrassed, but he couldn't figure out what he'd done. So he drank the awful coffee so he could try to smooth things over. The fish cheered him on. 

"Go, Loki!" 

"Whatever you did, I'm sure it's not so bad." 

"That's true. Thor's nice." 

Thor _was_ nice. It was the only reason Loki cared. 

When Thor left, though, it was in a whirlwind of pulling on a jacket and grabbing his bag and darting out the door with a promise to take Loki shopping that night, not leaving a moment for Loki to get a word in edgewise. He sighed and threw out his coffee. 

New York was awfully large and while Loki wouldn't admit that it was intimidating, he did limit his outdoor excursion to two laps around his block. The rest of the day he passed on the computer, trying to distract himself from the terrible mess he'd gotten into. The brief cheerfulness he'd found in the shower had been the only good part of the day, and it was lost so quickly. 

The internet was where he found out that James Watt (1736-1819) was the one responsible for the huge powerful ships that had driven him from his home. If only this Watt were still alive, Loki would eat him up. Slowly. But Watt was dead and Loki had no one to blame but himself. _Maybe I should have just stayed with Petra,_ he thought mournfully. 

When Thor got home, though, he seemed to have forgotten all about that morning. Well, if he was willing to let it slide, Loki was too. They went to the supermarket, where they shared a cart ("the kitchen isn't big enough for us each to get a cartload," Thor explained) and worked their way through the aisles, filling it. They got there after the evening rush, and it was quiet enough for Thor to get his first Greek lesson as they shopped. 

"Lemóni," Loki said, pointing to a lemon. 

"Lemóni," Thor repeated. 

"Ntomáta, spanáki," Loki said as he added a tomato and a bag of spinach to the cart. 

"Ntomáta, spanáki," said Thor happily. "I could guess what they are even if you weren't showing me. This isn't so hard." 

Loki smirked and picked up an eggplant. He cocked one eyebrow in query. 

"Oh. Umm, eggplanti?" Thor guessed with a grin. 

"Melitzána," Loki corrected, setting it next to the tomato. 

"So how are you planning to cook this stuff?" Thor asked. 

"In the oven," Loki said. "Food is cooked in the oven." 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Thor was really nice about eating everything Loki cooked for dinner. The roasted lemons, which he claimed were a traditional Greek dessert, were, admittedly, rather difficult to choke down, but Thor put them away like a trooper, even if he did drink quite a lot of water as he did so.

They watched a movie together that night, nestled comfortably on the sofa. There was a single ottoman to share as a foot rest, and at some point during the film Loki realized that Thor's foot was touching his. He didn't move.

Their days passed easily. On Saturday, Thor took Loki to his bank to set up an account and they went on a subway ride for Loki to see how it worked. They went sightseeing together. Loki's delight made Thor laugh, but in a nice way, like he was so happy at seeing Loki happy that it bubbled over into laughing. The Statue of Liberty. The Empire State Building. They spent a day in Central Park, walking through the Shakespeare Garden (Loki had once eaten someone who claimed to be Shakespeare's third cousin twice removed; it gave the garden a personal connection), meandering the North Woods and having a picnic next to the Ravine. Another day was spent at the Met, where they never made it past the classical galleries. Thor had friends over sometimes and they were nice too, though not as nice as Thor.

Loki got a job in one of the fish markets near the wharves, but he quit after two days. It was too hard to look the guppies in the eye when he came home. After that he found a tiny ad for a Greek teacher at an Orthodox Church. He wasn't Christian (it was quite impossible to believe the Christian God was the only one, not when he'd passed his adolescence in depraved revels with Dionysos) but he'd had been curious enough to have his victims explain it to him before he ate them, so he was able to fake religion well enough. This job he kept.

Everything seemed to be going well, except that Thor still behaved strangely sometimes. At first Loki thought that he must be taking too long in the shower, and that Thor was simply being polite when he denied it. But Loki switched to showering in the evenings, when he knew that Thor was relaxing, reading or watching television, and the same thing continued to happen. Every time he got out of the shower, Thor was there, about to barge in. Loki tried to shower when Thor wasn't home, but their work schedules were too similar for that to work very often. He'd sing quietly to himself as he washed, bucking up his courage for the awkward meetings that inevitably followed.

Still, the rest of the time, they got along _perfectly_. They cooked their meals together when they got home and talked happily about their day, and as cold weather set in it was natural to sit together more closely on the sofa. Loki would fall asleep with his head on Thor's shoulder and Thor would pull a blanket around him. It felt comfortable to be close to Thor, to take in the smell of his hair and the warmth of his leg as they pressed together to share the footrest. Something soft and golden came to live in Loki's heart. He wondered how he had lived so long without it.

"Another Friday night at home, Thor?" Loki asked one evening as he kicked the snow off his boots. The walk to the subway wasn't long, but there were deep drifts that completely covered his feet as he walked.

"Yeah. I like being with you," Thor said. He was chopping a cauliflower; he'd discovered Loki's love for roasted cauliflower a few weeks earlier and had been making it almost constantly ever since.

"I like being with you, too," Loki said softly. He padded silently towards Thor, his thick socks doing too little to protect him from the cold drafts on the floor. He frowned when he saw what else was on the counter. Thor had bought lovely steaks, and there was a chocolate cake and a basket of raspberries and a bottle of champagne. "Is it a special occasion?" he asked.

"Do you know what today is?"

"Wednesday was the twelfth, so today's- oh! It's Valentine's Day! Do you have someone coming? Should I go?" he asked. "Just let me get my boots back on."

"Loki, wait!" Thor said, chuckling. "It is Valentine's Day, but more importantly, it's the six month anniversary of the day you moved to New York."

"This is for me? _Oh_ ," Loki said.

"It is," Thor said. His eyes were such a warm blue, like the Aegean in summer.

Thor stepped closer and after a single trembling moment, their lips met. Loki's eyes fluttered shut. He had seen this so many times before, but never known. He was half-drowsy with pleasure when he felt Thor's tongue nudge gently at his lips for entry, and he jerked back.

"Be careful, Thor," he stammered, "Greek people have much sharper teeth than-"

He was cut off by Thor's laughter. "Oh, Loki, it's all right. I know what you are," he said.

Loki blinked. "You do?" he asked.

"It wasn't really that hard to figure out, with the way I kept getting lured to the bathroom every time you sang in the shower. Plus you really don't know anything about Greece."

Just like that, everything made sense. He really thought he couldn't be heard over the screaming of the old water pipes. "You could hear me singing?"

"You've got strong lungs."

"And... you don't mind it?"

"Mind it? Loki, I'm so jealous I can barely stand it! All those wrecks that you got to swim through, all that archaeology-"

"I could change you," Loki said softly.

"You can... you can make me like you? Able to live underwater, and explore..."

"Well, I had to leave because there was no food. But we could live at the seaside and eat like we do here. I technically own an internet café on the beach. We could run that, and explore when we're not working."

"You'd do that? You really want to be with me?"

Loki nodded. "It would be forever. You understand that, yes?" he asked.

"There's nothing I'd love more," Thor breathed.

They kissed again - Loki's second and final kiss with a mortal - and then Loki did the magic.

And then Thor opened his mouth...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and he sang...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and Loki was _enchanted._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and commenting, everyone! I promise to reply to every single one as soon as I'm home from my trip.


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